READING SKILLS

PREPARED BY MADAM WAN RAIHAN WAN SHAAIDI

Some people think of the act of reading is easy to master.
However, in reality, it’s a complex process that draws on
many different skills.
Whatever the cause, knowing the skills involved, can assist
you to master the reading skills.
 Reading skills, it’s a complex process of
decoding and apprehending written message.

Reader will require different reading strategies

and skills depending on the purpose of reading,
in order to comprehend the subject-content and
language patterns of a message.Reading skills
include:
 Reading skills include:

Skimming Scanning

Intensive Reading Extensive Reading

 Skimming

Reading in a quick manner to get a general idea of

the text.

Involves selective reading of the most important

points of the text.

Do not read every single word of the text.

What should you read to get the gist of a text? Put a tick (/) in the boxes.

1. The title.

2. The headings.

3. The subheadings.

4. Every part of the text.

5. The middle of each paragraph.

6. The first sentence of the paragraph.

7. The last sentence of the paragraph.

8. The conclusion.
 Deriving specific information from the text
Scanning while reading selectively.

Identify specific information such as:

a date a name a number

a place certain phrases

Tick (/) the type of text that you would use skim or scan.

SKIM SCAN
1. A dictionary.

2. Newspaper article.

3. Book review.

4. A bank account statement.

5. A health examination result.

 Intensive Reading

Intensive reading is a reading skill that allow you to completely

This is activity requires great mental effort and focus. Due to
deconstruct a text, with the goal of absorbing as much meaning
that, the learner who engages in intensive reading must be careful
from it as possible. This is done by systematically looking up
to follow specific guidelines, or else risk boredom and burnout.
every word, phrase, or collocation that you do not understand.
Thus, if you wish to read a text intensively, you must read texts
that are :

interesting and short to be read only for brief

periods of time
 Intensive reading is used to understand:

word or number

distinguish fact from opinion,

identify and evaluate a writer’s attitude and

understand the author’s intention.

 Intensive reading materials including:

news articles wikipedia articles a contract

a bookkeeping report insurance claim

a blog post
 Extensive Reading

Extensive reading can be referred as reading for joy. This approach

advocates a reader to read as much as possible without concerning
the meaning of unknown word, as the intention is to enjoying the
texts.

Aspects of extensive reading:

Texts for extensive The texts must be

The reading text
must be reading must be at of moderate length.
interesting, appropriate level.
 DETERMINING FIVE TYPES OF CONTEXT
CLUES

It’s always occurred for us to refer to dictionary every time we are at

lost of definition for unknown words.

Do you know that we can guess the definition of the unknown word
based on contextual clues given in the text or sentence.

Context clues are indicator found within a sentence, paragraph, or

passage that a reader can use to comprehend the meanings of new
or unfamiliar words.
There are several types of context clues. Some of them are:

definition or contrast clue example clue

synonym clue

general sense of the clue from another

sentence sentence
Definition or Synonym clue

The new term may be formally defined, or sufficient

explanation may be given within the sentence or in the
following sentence.

Clues to definition include “that is,” commas, dashes, and

parentheses.
Definition or Synonym clue

1. His emaciation, that is, his skeleton-like appearance, was

frightening to see.

“Skeleton-like appearance” is the definition of

“emaciation.”
Contrast clue

Often a word or phrase is elucidated by the appearance of

the opposite meaning somewhere close to its use.

Look for signal words when applying context clues.

The use of “although,” “however,” and “but” may signal

contrast clues.
Contrast clue

1. The children were as different as day and night. He was

a lively conversationalist,but she was reserved and
taciturn.

“Taciturn” means the opposite of a

“lively conversationalist.”
Example clue

Sometimes a reader finds a new word, an example might be

found nearby that helps to explain its meaning. Words like
including, such as, and for example, point out example
clues.

Words like including, such as, and for example, point out
example clues.
Example clue

1. Celestial bodies, including the sun, moon, and stars,

have fascinated man through the centuries.

“Celestial” objects are those in the sky or heavens.

 General Sense of The Sentence

Now and then, a word or phrase is not immediately clarified

within the same sentence.

Thus, the reader must look for hints within, before and after
the sentence in which the word is used.
 General Sense of The Sentence

1. The AllSweet was Lauren’s favourite place. She loved its

doughnut and pastry.

“AllSweet” is a bakery or cafe.”

 Clue from another sentence

There will be a time where a sentence will provide a general

sense clue that will help you understand the meaning of the
word.

However, there are authors that included information in another

sentence in the paragraph that allows you to determine the
meaning of an unfamiliar word.

The other sentence can come before or after the one with the
unknown word, so it is a good idea to keep reading when you
encounter an unfamiliar word.
Clue from another sentence

1. Nanotechnology is becoming more widespread in society. As

computer chips continue to shrink, manufacturers are placing
them in everything from clothing, to building materials, to
even the human body.

“Nanotechnology” the study and application of extremely

small things and can be used across all the other science
fields, such as chemistry, biology, physics, materials science,
and engineering.
Exercise 1: Read each sentence and determine the meaning of
the word using cross sentence clues or your prior
knowledge.

1. Anis felt that Mr. Ramlee was much more unpleasant than
usual and she suspected that he did not have his
breakfast this morning.
Definition:

annoying/irritating/troublesome
2. The millionaire in Rosette town was losing his hearing and he offered a
large reward to anyone who could find a remedy for his condition.
Definition:

treatment/cure/antidote

3. The students who arrived late told the lecturer an implausible story
about stopping to watch a UFO.
Definition:
hard to believe/ridiculous/unrealistic
4. The prisoners liberated from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp
were so emaciated that they looked like skeletons.
Definition:

thin/skeletal/bony/skin and bone

5. Khairin said in relief, “I just freed myself from a very loquacious

history professor. All he seemed to want was an audience.”
Definition:

talkative/voluble/verbose
6. The islanders seemed to keep their vitality and live longer than
Europeans. The idea of living in such a benign climate was appealing.
Definition:

mild/pleasant/gentle/refreshing

7. After taking the final exam, Bahauddin felt as though an enormous

burden had been lifted.
Definition:

huge/large/vast
8. Nazmi’s mother came up to the school to get the cell phone the
lecturer had confiscated.
Definition:

impound/seize/sequester

9. After the bird escaped, Anip tried to coax it back into the
cage with treats.
Definition:

persuade/wheedle/lure
10. If a wolf refuses to help its pack hunt, it becomes an
outcast and must go on alone.
Definition:

leper/exile/waif
Exercise 2: Below are two texts which you are going to skim
read. Once you have read the texts, give each one an
appropriate heading, then answer the questions.
Text 1: Read the text and add an appropriate heading and answer the
questions below.
Heading:_______________________
Nowadays, many people prefer to Planning
travel inaatrip
solitary state. Firstly, they
decide where they want to go and come out with the itineraries, such as
how they will get there, how long they want to stay, where they want to
stay, when they will go, what they need to take and how much it will
cost.
Answer the following questions:
1. How do people like to travel these days?
2. What do they decide on first?

In a solitary state
3. What are the itineraries mentioned in the text?

Where they want to go

how they will get there, how long they want to stay, where they
want to stay, when they will go, what they need to take and how
much it will cost.
Text 2: Read the text and add an appropriate heading and
answer the questions below.
Heading:_______________________
The time you go depends on whatWhen to go
you want to do. For example, if you
are going to do outdoor activities such as walking, cycling or wall
climbing, then you need to choose a time when the weather is dry. If
you prefer a more relaxed holiday spent sunbathing and swimming,
then the weather should not be too hot.
Answer the following questions
1. What does the time you go depend on?
2. What are some examples of outdoor activities?
3. What do you do on a
What you want to do relaxing holiday?

walking, cycling or wall climbing

sunbathing and swimming